a pocket guide to haven
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A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
2
Dear Reader,
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN is a fictional booklet created from material that was
culled from an early draft of my novel BECOMING DARKNESS and from notes I
worked up while developing the book. There were thoughts of perhaps presenting it as
an appendix to the novel, but length prevented this, and so I offer it here, for those who
may seek a little more information on the world in which the novel is set. The guide is
written to reflect the rather staid academic bearing of its fictional authors, and to mirror
the type of language one might find in a typical guidebook that seeks to edify rather
than entertain.
BECOMING DARKNESS is an alternate history YA novel, set in the early part of the
twenty-first century, in a world where history took a decidedly different path during
World War Two. It is published by Switch Press and was released on October 1st, 2015.
The book can be found in bookstores and purchased from on line retailers around the
world. For more information visit the Switch Press site:
http://www.capstoneyoungreaders.com/sites/SwitchPress/index.html#.VgswTeRdG01
or go to www.lindsaybrambles.com
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
3
A
POCKET GUIDE
TO
HAVEN By
James Grant & N.M.N’Domo
THREE ISLANDS PRESS
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
4
A Pocket Guide to Haven by James Grant, PhD, Haeden University & N.M.N'Domo,
Professor of Comparative Studies, Haeden University. Third edition. Copyright 2004, Three
Island Press, 101-53c King Fisher Avenue, Caelo. Copies may be purchased directly from the
publisher for $5.99 plus the applicable EAC and shipping costs. Also available in most local
bookstores. If you have any questions about this booklet or others from this publisher please call
Exchange 2—Area 6—Number 1959.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
5
The Fall:
The story of Haven begins long
before its founding in the autumn of
1948. It would be fair to say it has its
roots in the initial outbreak of the
plague that would eventually bring the
human race to the brink of extinction.
And while an exact date of the
development of the virus BSD1897 –
more commonly referred to by its
colloquialism, “Gomorrah” – cannot
accurately be determined because of
limited access to Nazi archives, it is
suspected the scientific team responsible
produced its first working prototype in
a Berlin laboratory sometime in late
1942 or early 1943. It has long been
speculated the purpose of the virus was
related to a German effort to produce
some sort of supersoldier, and the fact
that some of the initial patients were
members of the Wehrmacht goes some
way to supporting this hypothesis.
At what point control of the virus
was lost and mutation began is
uncertain, but these developments
would appear to coincide with an
outbreak of influenza in prisoner of war
and concentration camps situated in
Germany and Poland at the time that
Nazi scientists expanded the scope of
their initial drug trials. It is believed that
during this period they moved to
conducting tests on Jewish internees and
Allied POWs (in a clear contravention of
the Geneva Convention edicts regarding
the treatment of prisoners of war). As a
result, sometime around mid-1943
Gomorrah assumed an airborne vector
and the spread of the virus became
exponential. Within months it dispersed
throughout the populations of the
Germany and Poland and beyond the
borders of these countries into the rest
of Europe and parts of the Soviet Union
west of the Urals.
By 1944 the virus had consumed
Britain, most of North Africa, the Mid
East, and large portions of Asia and the
Indian sub-continent. Attempts to halt
the disease met with little success. As
infection rates escalated, governments
throughout the world resorted to the
implementation of increasingly drastic
measures to reduce contamination.
Massive quarantines were instated but
proved fruitless. The closing of borders
and enforced restriction of movement
across the globe were equally
ineffective. Intensified medical research
to find a viable vaccine proved a dead
end. Whatever the means of its
transmission, the virus continued to
spread at a rapid-fire pace.
As mortality rates skyrocketed,
chaos began to sweep much of the
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
7
civilized world where the virus had
taken hold. Governments collapsed as
populations dwindled and the
manpower necessary to maintain even
basic services was stretched beyond the
breaking point. Panic reigned; and with
the loss of centralized leadership,
citizens began taking matters into their
own hands. It is at this point where we
see some of the most devastating
consequences of the plague. All sense of
propriety and moral circumspection was
abandoned in the interest of survival.
There are few eye-witness
accounts of these times, but rumors of
mass executions, the fire-bombings of
entire towns and villages, eradication of
anyone even suspected of contagion,
and similar extreme measures are not to
be discounted. Though these factors are
not inconsequential and should not be
dismissed, far and away the bulk of the
deaths are attributed to the virus itself.
Those not killed outright by Gomorrah
or by the panic of survivors invariably
fell victim to other diseases, including
and especially cholera, dysentery,
typhoid, influenza, malaria, and tetanus.
Famine also played a role in the high
mortality rates experienced across the
globe, with Africa, Asia, South America,
and the Soviet Union being particularly
hard hit.
It is estimated that initially as
much as ten percent of the world
population manifested immunity to the
virus. However, as a result of the
aforementioned factors, this number
was greatly reduced – especially in third
world countries where the infrastructure
to deal with such a medical crisis was
already severely compromised or
simply non-existent. As a consequence,
we see the demographic makeup of
Haven's population reflective of
populations that were more
economically and technologically
advanced at the time of the outbreak.
Where state-of-the-art hospitals and
medical practices existed and the
finances and instruments to deal with
major domestic crises were well-
established, mortality rates of Immunes
were significantly lower than in places
like Africa, Asia, and South America.
While few Immunes of
continental Europe survived the Fall
and ensuing chaos, a substantial portion
of the Immune population of Britain did
manage to reach Canada in late 1944.
Those who did not succumb to the
subsequent fighting that took place in
North America during the period
between late 1945 and the signing of the
Articles of Peace in 1948, were later a
part of the exodus to Haven. The largest
numbers of survivors, however,
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
8
originate from the populations of
Canada, the United States (including
Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand, the
South Pacific islands, Japan, and South
Africa. Despite this, Haven remains
ethnically and culturally diverse –
largely because Immunes from other
parts of the world had either previously
migrated to North America, or because
in the wake of the plague's spread to
their regions of the planet, they were
able to escape and reach the North
American continent before the second
phase of the Fall.
By the time of the Battle of
Cypress Hills in Alberta – the last major
land conflict between Immunes and
Hitler's Nazi vamp forces – it is
estimated the entire Immune population
had fallen to a mere 1,000,000 men,
women, and children. Following the
battle this number was further reduced
to approximately 800,000. Roughly
200,000 more died before the exodus to
Haven, victims of the extreme
deprivations of the concentration camps
that had been established in Alberta and
northern Montana. During the Pacific
Ocean crossings to the uninhabited
Central Pacific island archipelago
previously known as Aipotu – which
took place over the period of late 1948 to
early 1950 – more loses were sustained,
and in the year following the creation of
Haven's first settlements there were still
further casualties.
One year after the official
founding of Haven the Immune
population is estimated to have shrunk
to a level of approximately 500,000
before stabilizing and beginning an
upward growth trend that has since
continued. The vampire population at
this time is assumed to have been only
marginally greater than its current 200
million.
According to official Haven
government census figures for the year
ending in 2004, the population of the
islands stands at 2,056,721. More than
three quarters of the current inhabitants
of Haven were born in the Republic.
With the passing of each year, the
number of those who knew a life prior
to the establishment of the Republic
dwindles, making the securing of
historical accounts of the pre-plague
world ever more urgent.
The Haeden University's
Margolliean Camera contains several
hundred wire recordings of pre-war
recollections from citizens, now filed
under the university's Living History
Program. Further firsthand accounts can
be found in the Haven Archives, housed
within the West Block of the Haven
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
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Parliament buildings on Wellington
Boulevard.
The Republic and its Government:
Founded in 1948, the Republic of
Haven is comprised of three main
inhabited islands and several smaller
surrounding ones (largely uninhabited).
Formerly known as Aipotu, the
archipelago is situated in the Pacific
Ocean at 180 degrees longitude and
straddles the equator, with the zero
degree latitude cutting across Central
Island north of the capital city of Caelo.
The Republic contains the last
remaining human population on the
planet Earth, with just over two million
people as of the most recent census. It is
frequently said of Haven that it is the
last bastion of humankind, and that
should it fall, then so, too, goes all
humanity. As a consequence, there is a
deep awareness of how crucial it is to
maintain the state and ensure the
human race does not perish, lost forever
to all but the pages of history.
None are more conscious of this
than the members of the government.
The Republic is a democracy, with
powers divided between the legislative
body – Parliament – and the executive
branch – the president and the
President's Council. It is the
constitutional duty of the government to
ensure the survival of the human race,
and all actions taken are to be in
accordance with this obligation. The
government may not act in any way or
pass any legislation that runs counter to
its primary responsibility. Any
government or officer of the
government, from president to member
of Parliament, may be charged with
treason if he or she fails to fulfill this
most essential tenet of the constitution.
The government or an officer of
the government may violate the rule of
law if such actions are deemed in
support of the primary constitutional
obligation. Only the Supreme Court,
however, may determine this.
Each presidential term of office is
five years. An individual may hold the
office of the President for no more than
three consecutive terms, at which point
he or she must vacate the office for the
duration of at least one term before
being eligible to run for office again. No
individual may serve more than six
terms as President. Members of
Parliament are not restricted in the
number of terms they may serve
consecutively, but are limited to serving
office for no more than sixty years or
until the age of eighty – whichever
comes first.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
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The President cannot enter
Parliament without invitation, and is
required to appear before that body
when issued a Parliamentary Summons.
Similarly, the prime minister, who is
head of the governing party, must meet
with the President at Government
House (the official Presidential manor
and office of the executive branch) when
requested by the President.
The President has veto power
over any legislation tabled by
Parliament. Any vetoed legislation is
returned to Parliament for amendment,
at which point it may be presented once
again to the executive branch of the
government. The executive branch also
has the right to make amendments to
legislation, which in turn can be vetoed
by Parliament. However, neither the
executive branch nor the legislative
branch can reject a given piece of
legislation more than three times. If a
piece of legislation is rejected a third
time it is sent to the Supreme Court for
arbitration, at which point the officers of
the court must determine the merits of
the legislation or lack thereof and rule
upon them. The decisions of the
Supreme Court are final.
The first president of the
Republic was William Henderson. Born
in San Francisco in 1908, Henderson's
administration governed for two
consecutive terms and established many
of the ground rules that determined the
manner in which the relationship
between the executive and legislative
branches of government was to be
conducted.
Henderson's period in office is
often regarded as one of the most
important periods of governance in the
history of the Republic. It was during
this time that the fundamental nature of
the relationship with the Third Reich
was affirmed and the basic parameters
of that relationship set out in written
treaties signed by both nations.
Henderson's administration
instituted national universal health care
and saw to the establishment of post-
secondary education on the islands. It
was during his time in office that the
Mandatory Service Act was passed, and
also when most of the rationing system
was set in place and made law.
Henderson began the infrastructure
programs that would eventually link the
three islands.
Julian Margolliean followed
Henderson as President. Margolliean, of
Maori decent, was born in Auckland,
New Zealand, and also served for two
consecutive terms. He was shortly into a
third term at the time of his untimely
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
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death in the crash of the Presidential
airship.
Margolliean was especially
interested in education and insisted the
Republic could not hope to thrive unless
all education was free. Under his
administration the cost of the first post-
secondary degree of those attending
university was covered by the
government, with further degrees paid
for according to need.
Margolliean was a wealthy
philanthropist and prior to taking office
paid for the construction of the much-
praised Margolliean Camera that is the
jewel in the crown of Haeden
University. He continued his
philanthropy throughout his two terms,
and willed his money to Haven's major
charities when he died.
Margolliean's time in office was
not without controversy, though he is
perhaps counted as the best-loved of all
those who have served the people.
Conspiracy theories abound as to the
true nature of his death, some arguing
that the loss of the airship was no
accident and was the act of a group of
well-placed individuals who were
against the president's plans to let the
public know more about the secret
terms of "The Articles of Peace." He was
on his way to Berlin – purportedly to
discuss the matter of disclosure – when
the Presidential airship crashed in the
Pacific off the coast of North America.
The current President of the
Republic, Quinton Mallory, is the first to
have been born in Haven. He began life
in Point Barrow, but grew interested in
politics at an early age and moved to
Caelo while still in his teens. He
attended Haeden and received a degree
in public administration. Soon after that
he joined the LRP – the Liberal Republic
Party – and was elected and sat in
opposition when only twenty-one.
When the LRP defeated the
Conservative Unionists, Mallory became
a minister in the cabinet of Prime
Minister Paul Joachim-Pruse.
After a decade in government,
Mallory left office to vie for the seat of
President of the Republic. He failed, but
was nevertheless picked to serve on the
President's Council. In his early forties
he made yet another bid for the office of
the president and this time succeeded.
He is currently halfway through his
second term in office.
The Flag of the Republic of Haven:
The flag of the Republic of Haven
is a rectangle of navy blue surrounding
a central circle of emerald green on
which is set a triangular arrangement of
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
12
three silver stars. The navy blue
represents the Pacific, the emerald green
the land of the archipelago, and a silver
star for each of the three main islands.
Caelo:
In the early days of Haven,
settlement activity was largely confined
to the area around the site of the first
landing. The natural harbor formed by
what is now known as Resolute Bay
proved a perfect refuge for the first
armada of ships from North America.
The beginnings of the city of Caelo can
be seen in the foundries and factories
that still exist along the edge of the bay
not far from where the Skelty River
empties into the sea. It was here that the
first wave of refugees established the
beginnings of what is now known as the
Republic of Haven.
Erected to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of the founding of Haven,
the Statue of Salvation and Hope stands in
the waters of the bay some five hundred
yards from the docks. The statue
features two stylized nude figures, one
male and one female, standing with
their backs to one another, heads turned
slightly heavenward, each with an arm
outstretched toward the sky and the
fingers of their other hands entwined.
The statue was commissioned by the
government of Haven and paid for by
subscription. It was designed by the
artist L. Howard and cast in bronze
sections that were later assembled to
form a whole standing fifty feet high
(not including the hundred foot high
stone block pedestal on which it stands).
At the base of the pedestal are inscribed
the words: "If we be but two, it shall be
enough."
The oldest sections of Caelo are
located in the docks and the Republic's
heavy industry sector, as well as the
residential community of Old Caelo.
Much of Haven's earliest infrastructure
and many of its buildings were
constructed from the very ships that
brought the surviving Immunes to the
islands. Most of Victoria Station, for
example, is composed of recycled scrap
metal taken from the ocean liner Queen
Mary – a great deal of it still in its
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
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original form, as can be noted in the
support stanchions and steel joists of the
station's roof. Several warehouses were
erected from pieces of the Aquitania; and
if one looks carefully, it is possible to
find the ship's name on the side of one
such edifice.
Throughout the capital, evidence
abounds as to the nautical origins of the
city. The Grand Ballroom of the
Parliament once graced the Queen
Elizabeth. Parts of Haeden University
were constructed from the Mauretania
and the Empress of Australia. The
elevators in the Margolliean Camera –
Haeden University's esteemed library –
come from the Ile de France. The dome of
St.Paul's is fabricated from the ribbing of
the SS America. Many lamp standards
that grace the major arteries of the city
are fashioned from parts of these ships
and others. It is often said that the ships
that brought the refugees to Haven were
as important to the survival of humanity
as the human population itself.
Along the shoreline and
throughout the city it is possible to see
the gun emplacements established for
the early defence of the city. Most of
these weapons were removed from the
decommissioned warships HMS King
George V and USS Iowa, both of which
were severely damaged in the last great
sea battle of the war in the South China
Sea. The largest of the guns – fourteen
and sixteen inch cannons – are located
on Russet Hill, south of the industrial
sector, directly across the bay from
Cliffside.
In the decades since it was first
founded, Caelo has grown substantially.
The population is now over one million,
with the remainder of Haven's citizens
spread throughout the rest of the
islands. Most of the city's residents live
in the three largest boroughs – East,
West, and North – and in the downtown
core surrounding Piccadilly Circle.
South of the city, along the western
shore of Resolute Bay and opposite
much of West Borough, lies Cliffside,
home to the richest families in Haven.
At the most northern extent of this
exclusive area is the Third Reich
Embassy, situated on a promontory
overlooking the bay and well removed
from the prying eyes of the curious.
North of the city, the Blue
Mountains rise sharply into warm
Pacific skies. The lower slopes of these
mountains are ideal growing grounds
for coffee, a favorite delicacy of
Havenites – though needless to say its
scarcity means that it is among those
rationed goods that are strictly
monitored. The mountains also contain
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
15
camping grounds and hiking trails that
are enjoyed throughout the year by city
residents and other islanders.
The city has an extensive electric
streetcar network that runs along the
major arteries, such as Harvard Street,
Republic Avenue, King Street, King
Fisher Avenue, Queen Street, University
Avenue, Wellington Boulevard, and
numerous others. There is also some bus
service within the boroughs and the
districts north and south of the
downtown core.
The Central Island Train Line
runs straight through the southern part
of the city, close to Resolute Bay. The
"Central," as it is most commonly
known, connects the three islands with a
speedy electric train service. The
electrics run on a relatively regular
schedule throughout the week, with
added service on the weekend to
accommodate the tourist runs to the
popular coastal communities of Coral
Beach, Point Pleasant, Dunington, and
Easthaven. It is common practice for
citizens of Caelo to use the Central as
intercity transport between the western
and eastern halves of the city, and
special accommodations are made for
this by Island Transnational Shipping,
the corporation responsible for the
operations of the major electrics that
serve Haven.
Kensington Aerodrome is Caelo's
main airfield and services both inter-
island traffic and the regular Lufthansa
zeppelin operations between Haven and
the Third Reich city of New York.
Flights between the islands generally
employ Air Haven's well-maintained
fleet of DC-3's and Lockheed Electras.
The Presidential zeppelin is also housed
at Kensington, in one of the three large
hangars especially built for the airship
trade.
Caelo is home to many
newspapers, including The Haven
Chronicle, The Caelo Times, and The Haven
Herald, as well as the popular weekly
magazine Haven Today. There are also
two radio stations – Radio Haven and
TIBS (Three Islands Broadcast Service) –
covering all the islands and a single
television station – Island TV – which
operates daily from 6 PM to 10 PM
(excluding special live events) using
imported Telefunken equipment.
Although there are few fulltime
professional actors in Haven, there
remains an active live-theater
community in the city, with
performances all year round in the two
major theaters, the Odeon and the
Republic. There are also several cinemas
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
16
that show a mix of salvaged pre-war
films, census-cleared vamp productions,
and the few home-grown efforts that are
sponsored by the government. For those
who cannot afford the luxury of a
television, the newsreel theaters located
in each of the boroughs offer an
inexpensive way to keep up with the
news and see the latest developments on
the islands.
Caelo's major commercial district is
located in Piccadilly Circle and features
a wide variety of shops offering
everything from clothing and shoes to
radios and televisions. Here you will
find the latest in fashion and consumer
appliances, including the new 19 inch,
six valve Telefunken television consoles
from Germany, Braun radios (also from
Germany) featuring the exciting new
transistor technology, as well as
products like kerosene refrigerators,
electric cooktops and ovens, wringer-
washers, and vacuum cleaners.
Off Piccadilly is the Bytown Market,
where fresh produce trucked in from
outlying regions is sold daily. The
market is colorful and picturesque and
always busy. For those in the know, it is
here that much of the black market trade
is conducted. There also are kiosks and
small shops at the southern end of the
market that are noted for dealing in
salvage. Much of this comes from the
crews of trawlers who routinely venture
beyond the fishing zones prescribed by
the Third Reich government and seek
out the long abandoned coastal towns
and cities of the Pacific Rim countries.
Although officially frowned upon, the
work of these crews has done much to
supply Haven with goods and materials
currently impractical to manufacture. It
is said that there is probably not a single
household in Haven that does not have
something that was reclaimed and
brought to the islands and sold by
scavies (those who salvage and resell
pre-war items to the public). Films,
books, magazines, furniture, machinery,
and many other pre-war items are
common acquisitions of the scavies and
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
17
are always popular with Haven
residents.
The city has many restaurants,
ranging from expensive fine-cuisine
establishments like the renowned
Castelano's to cafes and bistros such as
The Calypso in Piccadilly Circle. The
Casbah, located down in the Washington
Square area of the dockland district of
the city, offers some of the best seafood
dining on the islands. The restaurants
are among the few places where citizens
can escape RB restrictions, as the
government has exempted these
businesses from the usual rationing
standards. There has long been
controversy over this, with some
arguing it favors the wealthy, who are
more able to indulge in regular nights
out than would be the case for most
citizens of the islands. To mitigate this
somewhat, the government has set
upper price limits on all menu items and
required that at least 30 percent of the
menu constitute affordable meals easily
within the financial reach of the average
citizen.
Sailing is a popular pastime
among citizens of the city, and within
the shelter of Resolute Bay it is common
to see craft of all sizes criss-crossing the
waters. The annual Bay Regatta, held in
June, culminates in an around-the-
islands yacht race that begins and ends
at the statue of Salvation and Hope.
The downtown streets of Caelo
are often busy with traffic, but relatively
free of the pollution for which Berlin,
New York, and other vamp cities are
infamous. This is largely because the
importation of gasoline-powered
vehicles from the Third Reich is severely
limited due to government rationing of
petroleum products. Most BMW and
Mercedes automobiles and trucks are in
government service, for use by such
agencies as the Presidential Security
Service (which operates and maintains
the Presidential limousine). Generally
the automotive trade in Haven is
controlled by two competing firms:
Stormway Motorcars and Universal
Electric Automobiles. Both companies
annually produce a limited number of
electric-powered vehicles of a half-
dozen or so models, with the Stormways
aimed at the lower end market and the
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
18
Universals intended for a slightly more
affluent clientele.
A particularly popular Stormway
model is the Athena, which has been in
production since the founding of the
company in 1953. The Athena is an
inexpensive, basic electric with a top
speed of about 70 mph. It is a favorite
due largely to its low cost, its ease of
use, and the compact simplicity of its
design.
The city is dotted with air raid
shelters, many in the basements and
sub-levels of large buildings. Air raid
sirens are placed strategically
throughout the city and across the
islands. These are tested on a regular
basis, and all citizens are required to be
acquainted with the whereabouts of the
nearest shelters in relation to their place
of residence or work. To ensure
familiarity with procedures in the event
of an attack from the air, the
government has mandated that once a
year the general population must
participate in a full-dress drill.
There are three main hospitals in
Caelo: the Mercy General, the Grace,
and the Haven Center for Medical
Advancement. Mercy is considered the
primary care facility on the islands and
is designed to accommodate patients
from areas outside of the city. The Grace
specializes in geriatric needs, while the
HCMA is largely a teaching and
research facility. All three are operated
as non-profit organizations fully funded
by the federal government, providing
free medical care to all citizens of the
islands.
Caelo is home to many
prestigious academic establishments,
including Humberton Academy. The
academy is well known as a popular
teaching establishment for the scions of
the wealthy, but by government
mandate its doors are open to all. Many
students attend under government
scholarships, offered to those who
require financial assistance and are
deemed in the upper levels of academic
achievement. Humberton graduates
generally go on to Haeden University.
Uniforms are standard in Haven
schools and generally include knee-
length pleated tartan skirts, white cotton
blouses, ties, white knee-high socks, and
black Marie-Janes for girls, and gray
trousers, white shirts, and ties for boys.
Blazers supplement the ensemble and
are mandatory wear during assemblies
and official school functions. At
Humberton, any alterations to the
standard school dress are frowned upon
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
19
and may be punishable, depending on
the severity of the transgression.
Haeden University is Haven's
primary post-secondary education
institute. It boasts a fulltime and part-
time student population of several
thousand. The government subsidizes
most costs and encourages the
acquisition of bachelor degrees –
especially those in the sciences and
engineering. Students pursuing a
medical degree have all expenses paid,
but are obliged to fulfill government
placement requirements. This allows the
government to ensure that outlying
rural areas of the islands have adequate
medical care. The minimum service
term in these cases is five years.
The Margolliean Camera is
Haeden University's primary reference
library and archive. It is named after the
second president of Haven, Julian
Margolliean, who sought as part of his
mandate to improve the standard of
education on the islands. The
Margolliean houses a large collection of
pre-war books, including many titles
banned in the Third Reich (in particular
works by Jewish scholars and scientists,
most of whom died in the pre-Fall Nazi
genocide of Jews and in the general
extermination of all creeds and races
that occurred during the Fall).
The Margolliean is built in the
style of post-war traditional and
features a domed skylight as one of its
chief architectural elements. It is known
to have many salvaged decorative and
functional components from the Ile de
France, which was scrapped in the years
following the arrival of the first settlers.
Caelo's hydro (electrical power)
comes from many sources, including
windmill generators that have been set
up across the islands. The original
power station along the Skelty, using
the river's swift moving currents to turn
a stepped array of turbines, still
provides at least fifty percent of the
city's off-peak needs. The station was
constructed using parts from the
generators of some of the ocean liners
that brought Immunes to the islands.
Over the years its capacity to sustain the
city's power requirements has dwindled
as the population of Caelo has
increased.
The government has long been
funding the development of a nuclear
power station on Brute Island, but this
project has been ongoing for more than
two decades and has thus far produced
no power. Should this new source of
electricity come on line, it will vastly
improve the quality of life in Haven
(particularly within Caelo), reducing the
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
20
power outages that have grown more
frequent in recent years.
Many homes in the outlying
regions of the city have their own small
windmills, capable of providing a
household with basic electrical needs.
As well, conservation is encouraged
throughout the city.
Curfew for under-seventeen year
old males and females in Caelo is
generally set at eleven PM, except for
those accompanied by an adult and on
occasions such as Founders Day and
Halloween. "Legal" or "Street legal" is
often used to refer to young people –
especially young women – who have
reached the age of majority (seventeen),
at which point the curfew no longer
applies. Legal young men and women
are eligible to participate in all adult
activities, including the consumption of
alcohol, voting in elections, conjugal
relations, marriage, etc.
Outside of Caelo the government
of Haven has permitted some smaller
communities to amend certain aspects of
the "legal" age issue to suit matters of
culture and religion where numbers
warrant. This does not include
fundamental liberties such as the
freedom to vote, however.
One of the biggest celebrations in
Caelo is Founders Day, commemorating
the arrival of the first ships in Resolute
Bay. The festivities are noted for their
fireworks and the thousands of Japanese
lanterns that are strung up throughout
the city. At midnight floating lanterns
are sent out into the bay and set aloft to
fill the sky, symbolizing the billions of
humans lost to the virus and the war.
New Year’s Eve is also important
in Caelo, marked by many community
and private parties, and culminating in
a spectacular fireworks display held at
the Parliament Buildings. The following
day, the first of the year, is observed
throughout the islands as Constitution
Day. In 1951, after more than a year of
intense debate, the People's Forum
finally concluded the details of Haven's
Constitution. On the first of January,
1952, a specially convened session of
Parliament passed a bill formalizing the
adoption of the Constitution, and
inaugurating the first president of the
islands under the new legislation.
Beyond the capital:
While Caelo is the focus of much
of Haven life, there are many outlying
communities that contribute to the well-
being of Haven society. Many of these
are located along the coast and are
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
21
noted for their tourist traffic. Coral
Beach, on North Island, is a prime
example of one such community. The
town boasts a small year-round
population, but at regular intervals
throughout the year – particularly
during school summer vacations, the
number of residents swells to several
thousand. Coral Beach is particularly
renowned for the ostentatious beach
houses of the rich and famous, and for
the long boardwalk that parallels the
white sand beaches.
During peak tourist times there is
an active nightlife and bar scene. It is no
wonder, then, that the community has
become somewhat notorious for its loud
parties and the antics of the many
holidaying students who gather there.
Point Pleasant is another popular
destination for city dwellers wishing to
escape the hustle and bustle of Caelo.
This community is more family-oriented
and appeals to those with young
children. The wide beaches and the
many amusements situated close by are
ideal for entertaining kids of all ages.
Farther south, on South Island,
Easthaven offers quiet relaxation for the
older set. Day fishing trips out to sea
launch regularly from the small coastal
community. In recent years the town has
become a magnet for retirees. Its major
claim to fame is the nearby residence of
Philip Hawthorne, the author of the
controversial No Haven for Darkness, a
bestselling novel in Haven but banned
in the Third Reich and, at the time of its
publication back in the ‘70s, the source
of considerable diplomatic tension
between Berlin and the Haven
administration. Hawthorne lives some
distance from the town in “the Castle,” a
fortress-like home on the coast. He is
reputed to be a recluse and has seldom
been seen in public since the publication
of his one and only book.
Other coastal towns, like Point
Barrow, Lapeche, Sharindar, Pau'launni,
and Peele, are less frequented by
tourists. Peele is largely a military town
and is linked directly by road to
Carmichael Naval Base, Haven's largest
military facility and home to much of
the Republic's deep water fleet.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
22
Both South Island and North
Island are relatively flat and feature
much good farming land. Sugar cane is
one of the primary crops of North
Island, along with corn, beets, sisal,
pineapple, etc. On South Island crops
range from potatoes, peas, grapes,
wheat, soy, etc. Central island is
renowned for its Blue Mountain coffee,
as well as being home to sheep, goats,
and small herds of cattle. There are also
a number of large orchards on the
island, providing a wide variety of
fruits.
North and Central islands are
joined by Union Bridge, which crosses
the Narrows, an impassable stretch of
water at the western extreme of the
Morrison Strait. Only a few hundred
meters wide, the Narrows divides the
southernmost tip of North Island from
the northernmost tip of Central.
Electrics pass over the bridge constantly,
with motorcars on the lower level and
trains on the upper.
Central and South islands are
linked by the ferry that runs out of
Dunington on Central and crosses the
Goddard Strait to Esterhaze on South.
The Central Island Train Line terminates
in Dunington but continues again at
Esterhaze and fans out across South
Island to Easthaven, Point Barrow, Point
Pleasant, and the military base known
as Southern Approaches.
Off the west coast of South Island
is the small island known simply as the
Western Battery. A small military base is
maintained here, with the duty to
observe and protect the less populated
western coast of the islands. Its airfield
services the Republic Number Ten
squadron of P-51s and Zeros that
regularly patrol the skies off the coast.
Brute Island:
Brute Island, off the eastern coast
of Central Island, is reputedly home to
Haven's nuclear power project.
However, for many years now there
have been rumors the island is a base of
operations for a much more extensive
scientific community. Evidence suggests
that work on nuclear weapons is being
conducted here, as well as rocket
delivery systems similar to the German
rockets developed by the renowned
vamp scientist, Werner Von Braun.
Brute Island is off-limits to all but
those with high security clearance.
There is a sailing exclusion zone around
the island and a no-fly zone capping it
for several miles.
Coral Beach:
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
23
The community of Coral Beach,
on the northwest coast of North Island,
is (as previously stated) a popular
tourist mecca, offering city dwellers in
particular a respite from the fast-paced
life. During summer vacation the wide
white beaches, cooler temperatures,
crystalline seas, and many bars and
shops attract high school and university
students looking for the chance to blow
off some steam. During this period the
population of Coral Beach increases
nearly tenfold.
The Boardwalk is renowned
throughout the islands. Here the
pleasure seeker will find numerous
activities to engage in, as well as open-
air restaurants, bars, kiosks selling a
plethora of goods, and views
unparalleled on the islands.
Just beyond the Boardwalk is
Stardust Beach, an exclusive stretch of
beach houses owned by some of
Haven's wealthiest and most influential
citizens. The Montague Marina and
Yacht Club is another popular gathering
place for the wealthier set and is home
to the renowned Mariners' Bar and Grill.
Coral Beach is linked by the
Central Island Train Line to Caelo and
enjoys regular service during the peak
vacation period. In the off-season
months service is reduced to twice daily.
St.Paul's Cathedral:
St.Paul's Cathedral, the largest
church in the Republic, was built to
commemorate the tenth anniversary of
the first wave of settlers. A large,
imposing edifice located on Wellington
Boulevard and Harvard Street, it was
intended to mimic its namesake in
London, England (which was destroyed
during the Nazi invasion of the city in
the early days of the Fall).
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
24
Like many buildings in Caelo, the
cathedral is painted white. A dome
made of recovered ribbing from the SS
America and steel plate from other ships
dominates the skyline in the area and
sets St.Paul's apart. Inside, the space is
vast, with rows and rows of wooden
pews facing a massive altar. It has been
tradition for President-elects, regardless
of faith, to visit the cathedral before the
official inauguration ceremonies.
Most of the important funerals
and weddings in Haven have taken
place in St.Paul's, as well as other
ceremonies of a national import.
Beechwood Cemetery:
Beechwood Cemetery is the
largest in Haven and the gravesite of
many of the islands' past luminaries,
including President Margolliean.
Located on the edge of the capital city,
past Kensington Aerodrome and lying
between North Borough and West
Borough, the cemetery is reached by
way of Republic Avenue.
The large tract of land situated in
an idyllic setting was originally the last
resting place for the thousands of men,
women, and children who perished in
the crossing to the islands and in the
early days of settlement. The cemetery
was designated the official "National
Cemetery" in the early sixties, and has
since served as the graveyard for many
of Haven's most noted citizens and
heroes.
The landscaping of the cemetery
is legendary, with a central avenue of
crushed coral bisecting the vast, rich
expanse of green fields. Mature kapok
trees line the avenue, overhanging much
of the route and forming a natural
cathedral. The tomb of President
Margolliean sits at the end of the
avenue, surrounded by a water moat
and is the centerpiece of the cemetery.
The tomb itself is fashioned of stone
quarried from the Blue Mountains and
features a glass dome centered over a
two-times life-size statue of the former
president.
Colorful sprays of flowers line
the walkways that weave throughout
the cemetery, in keeping with the
philosophy that the surroundings be
tranquil and inviting, with a sense of
uplifted spirit. Every year, as part of
Founders Day celebrations, school
children visit the cemetery and set
thousands of lanterns afloat in the two
large reflecting ponds as part of the
remembrance for those who sacrificed
so much for the Republic.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
25
Power Generation (wind):
Wind-generated power has been
crucial to Haven almost from the first
days of settlement, but it is only since
the late nineteen sixties that the large-
scale wind farms were initiated using
turbine-generator technology developed
at the Haeden University Institute of
Applied Engineering. The hydro from
the wind farms is distributed
throughout the islands and is the main
source of electricity for some smaller
communities. Fortunately, Haven is
blessed with fairly constant winds,
providing for generally consistent levels
of power production. However, despite
this, demand often exceeds production
and brownouts and blackouts are not an
uncommon daily occurrence throughout
the islands. Power outages are seldom
more than twenty or thirty minutes,
although on occasion they may exceed
an hour.
In recent years the government
has endeavored to place the wind farms
in settings that do not so overtly intrude
on the lives of the island's citizens; but
the legacy of the windmills endures and
is evident in fields across the Republic.
Newspapers:
The largest circulation daily in
the Republic is The Haven Chronicle. This
is also one of the oldest newspapers on
the islands. Its biggest rivals are The
Haven Herald and The Caelo Times.
Because of rationing, these newspapers
are restricted in size and number of
pages. The newspapers maintain recycle
bins throughout the city so that readers
may dispose of copies once they are
done with them.
Freedom of the press is enshrined
in the constitution of the Republic, but
the government may censor the content
of editorials and stories if such are
deemed detrimental to the security of
the islands and the citizens of Haven.
On more than one occasion in the past
the government has invoked this
privilege; and despite Supreme Court
challenges by the papers, the exact
details of the security issues involved
have remained closed to the public.
Because of the nature of the
relationship between Haven and the
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
26
Third Reich, the news media have been
suitably cautious in their approach to
reporting on the Nazi regime. In
general, items are limited to only those
matters that have a direct bearing on
Haven, or which may be presented
innocuously and without prejudice.
Although technically not a
newspaper, the weekly Haven Today
covers some of the same areas as its
daily counterparts. However, it also
contains more in-depth feature articles
and a more focused analysis of the
issues.
Transportation:
The Republic is well served by an
extensive railway network that covers
all three islands. The backbone of this is
the Central Island Train Line operated
by Island Transnational Shipping. This
extends from Easthaven in the south to
Coral Beach in the north. There are
several branching lines that feed to other
communities, but only some of these are
operated by Island Transnational
Shipping.
The electrics are largely modified
rolling stock smuggled from the
mainland during the early fifties when
the Republic risked the wrath of the
Third Reich government by tacitly
sanctioning large scale salvage
operations in the abandoned cities along
the Pacific coasts of North America,
Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The
engines are mostly a product of Haven
innovation, but the coaches are basically
unaltered – though over the years wear
and tear has required the replacement or
repair of parts and interior finishings.
Because of the limited resources
available to the islands, coaches are
difficult to replace. A full-scale
refurbishment program is planned by
the federal government, with the hope
of extending the life of the coaches for
another decade or two.
Due to the extremely limited
availability of aircraft fuel, Air Haven
runs an infrequent service from Caelo to
Coral Beach, Esterhaze, Point Pleasant,
Point Barrow, Westhaven, and
Pau'launni. Its fleet is almost exclusively
DC-3s and Lockheed Electras, and
flights are generally restricted to the
transportation of vital goods or persons,
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
27
and to medical emergencies requiring a
faster response than could be provided
by use of electrics.
There are many roads criss-
crossing the islands and connecting the
various communities of Haven. The
more frequented of these are paved, but
a great many are made from quarried
mountain stone that has been
pulverized or from the crushed coral
that is plentiful around the archipelago.
There are re-charge stations situated at
regular intervals along most roads (see
below).
Rationing:
Rationing in Haven has been in
effect since the arrival of the first
settlers. Over the years conditions have
improved since those early days and the
degree of rationing has become
considerably less severe. Nevertheless,
almost all goods and services on the
islands are subject to rationing, be they
food, clothing, hydro, pharmaceuticals,
etc. There is a saying in Haven that
about the only thing that isn't rationed is
the air, and that if the government could
ration how much we breathe it would.
The most restricted items in
Haven are petroleum-based fuels. As a
consequence, few vehicles on the islands
are powered by gas-driven engines. All
those that are have either been imported
from the Third Reich or are salvage
from mainland cities. The
preponderance of automobiles and
trucks on the roads of the Republic are
electric powered. Most of these have a
range of about fifty miles before
requiring a charge, so it is common to
find charging posts (often referred to as
"hitching posts" or simply a "hitch" –
presumably after the "horse hitching
post") at most parking spots. Even
remote locations are often serviced by
hitches powered by windmills.
The heavy reliance on hydro for
transportation purposes means that
electricity is also a severely rationed
commodity. All RBs (Ration Books)
contain Electric Allotment coupons
(EACs) that must be exchanged when
using services that require the use of
hydro. Even when purchasing many
goods, EACs must be included with
payment. (The coupons must be
exchanged when paying for fares on
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
28
taxis, riding the city streetcars and
buses, and when purchasing tickets on
any train service throughout the islands.
Coupons must also be relinquished at
restaurants to cover the hydro usage
required to cook a meal.)
In an attempt to bring some
equity into the distribution and use of
power, the government instituted the
Electrical Ration Quota. This applies to
most devices that use electricity,
including stoves, ceiling fans, televisions
and radios, coffee percolators, etc.
Where coupons are impractical, tokens
are used (such as in the meter boxes in
households that regulate the use of fans
and home appliances, as well as when
paying for the use of the hitches in
parking spaces). Tokens are obtained by
the exchange of EACs in order to ensure
fairness in the system.
When an individual's monthly
allotment of tokens is exhausted, he or
she must wait until the next issuance of
tokens before using a given electrical
device again. As a result of these
restrictions, there is a thriving black
market in tokens.
Automobile owners are assessed
hydro consumption based on need, with
a set number of miles per day
designated in accordance with
residential location, professional
standing, and a determination of
whether an individual's job is classified
"essential." Most doctors, for example,
fall in the "unlimited" category, while
students are assessed the lowest quota
of travel miles. Mileage may be
accumulated to provide for longer,
infrequent trips; and as with many other
quotas, there is a steady underground
market.
The islands are blessed with an
abundance of fertile land in many
different forms suitable for the growing
of several varieties of crops.
Nevertheless, it is still necessary to
ration food. While some produce is
more readily available than others and
rationing is minor – as in the case of
locally caught fish stocks – there are
certain goods that are restricted. Flour is
one such commodity that is tightly
controlled, largely because the wheat
from which it is made is land intensive
and not as economically justifiable as
the more readily available potato.
Because flour is so restricted,
baked goods tend to be expensive.
Individuals are generally limited to one
2 pound bag of flour each month. As a
consequence, many supplement wheat
flour with potato and rice flour.
The Third Reich exports large
quantities of beef and pork (and
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
29
untreated leather) to the islands, the
result being that meat is one of the least
restricted items and shoes and other
leather-made goods tend to be relatively
plentiful and inexpensive. Quotas for
beef are generally among the highest,
closely followed by pork.
The Black Market:
Due to rationing throughout
Haven, there is a thriving black market
in many goods and services. While
technically illegal, for the most part the
authorities turn a blind eye to such
activity where it does not constitute a
threat to peace and the balance of
general commerce.
One of the most popular items on
the black market is the EAC. Since
Electric Allotments are highly restricted,
and the limits are largely the same for
all individuals, there is never a shortage
of people seeking to trade for the
coupons. It is a poorly guarded secret
that residents of Cliffside purchase large
numbers of coupons through "brokers"
who make the transaction more
palatable for those who do not wish to
risk the possibility of being caught
engaging in illicit activities.
Black market goods also include
banned products, such as vamp novels,
magazines, and motion pictures that
have not been approved by the Haven
Censorship Board. Although technically
illegal to possess such items, the usual
punishment is merely a warning and
confiscation of the goods.
Scavies:
Scavies exist in a somewhat gray
area of the law. While officially the
Haven Ministry of Justice frowns upon
their practices, they nevertheless operate
in the open – usually in public places
like the Bytown Market in Caelo and
similar locations in other towns.
Although referred to as scavies
(scavengers), many are not actually the
individuals who obtain the scavenged
goods. In most cases they are resellers,
purchasing items from Havenites
returning from contract work in the
Third Reich, from freighter crews who
have traveled to vamp port cities, and
from trawler crews who have
circumvented the boundaries of the
recognized fishing zones and entered
abandoned coastal cities on the
mainland.
Salvage sold by scavies ranges
from electronic, electrical, and
mechanical parts to such things as old
magazines and household furnishings.
With the passing of time and the
abandoned cities falling into further
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
30
disrepair, the acquisition of such vintage
items has become increasingly difficult.
The Central Haven Library,
which disburses books throughout the
islands, owes much of its collection of
pre-war books to salvage. And many
machines on the islands have been
maintained because of spare-parts that
have been acquired through scavenging
runs made to the old mainland cities of
the Pacific Rim.
A Woman's Place in Haven Society:
Although in many respects it
may seem women are regarded the
equals of men in Haven society, in
reality this is far from the case. Women
are required under law to marry before
the age of twenty-five and are expected
to give birth to at least four children
within their fertile period. A failure to
fulfill these obligations – other than
because of health reasons – can result in
government censure. The government,
and Haven society in general, take a
woman's obligation to increase the
population of the Republic very
seriously and a great deal of statutory
and social pressure is placed upon
young women to marry soon after they
are declared "legal" and to have as many
children as possible as soon as possible.
From a young age, girls are
taught the importance of their role in
maintaining the human presence on the
planet and how their contributions will
aid in the reclamation of the world at
some point in the future. For this reason
the health of women on the islands has
always been paramount, and one entire
wing of Mercy General Hospital is
devoted exclusively to women's health
and maternity.
In recent years many young
women have become more vocal in their
opposition to the laws concerning
marriage and the production of
offspring. For the most part, however,
this movement has gained little traction
in Haven society, as many regard the
statutes pertaining to the obligations of
women to be essential for the future of
the Republic and for humankind as a
whole. As a consequence, efforts to
soften the laws forbidding contraception
and abortion have consistently failed.
While women are expected to
shoulder much of the responsibility for
maintaining and expanding the
population of the islands, they are also
required to continue working outside
the home. Because of the manpower
shortage throughout the islands, it is
essential women labor in all areas of
service and industry.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
31
Women's contributions to the
Republic are considerable, yet there are
many who maintain they are still
marginalized. Less than ten present of
the seats in Parliament are held by
women, and there is currently only one
woman on the Presidential Council
(Amelia Westerly). There has been an
increasing push from some women's
groups throughout the islands to set
aside at least twenty-five percent of all
seats in Parliament for women so as to
ensure better representation. To date the
government has resisted such moves,
with some arguing such a system would
be inherently undemocratic.
The general consensus is that
women's rights will not be fully realized
until such time as the vamp problem is
resolved and the human population can
once again resume its rightful place
throughout the world.
Education:
Education is considered a federal
responsibility and standards and
curriculum are set by the Ministry of
Education. The government pays for all
education up to and including an
individual's first university degree.
After this point, the financial obligations
of the public are determined by the
probability of an individual's successful
completion of postgraduate and
doctoral programs as well as societal
needs. In the case of individuals
pursuing postgraduate degrees in
applied science and engineering, as well
as in medicine, the government assumes
all costs. In the case of medical school
graduates, the government reserves the
right to determine place of employment
for a minimum of five years following
graduation.
There are some private schools
on the islands, the most renowned of
these being Humberton Academy in
Caelo. However, in accordance with the
Education Act, the government will
bestow full scholarships on students
who are deemed of exceptional
academic quality and found to be
suitable applicants to Humberton. By
law, no private school may reject the
application of any student who meets
the academic standards of the school in
question.
The government has accepted the
establishment of a few minority
religious schools, but has required that
such schools be paid for by members of
the community in question – with the
provision that such individuals will be
freed of obligations to pay the Federal
Education Tax. Religious schools must
follow the standards and curriculum set
by the government, and all students of
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
32
such schools must take the standardized
tests given twice yearly through grades
one to twelve.
Education is considered one of
the fundamental pillars of Haven society
and a vital component to the future
prosperity of humanity.
Haeden University:
As stated previously, Haeden
University is situated in Caelo and is
Haven's major post-secondary
educational institution. The student
body numbers in the thousands, but
because of the obligations set upon
women in Haven society, less than a
third of the students are female. These
numbers have improved somewhat
since the early days of the university
when the ratio of males to females was
in the order of ten to one. Nevertheless,
it has long been argued that the
imbalance in the numbers of woman
able to pursue post-secondary education
is detrimental to the aspirations of the
Republic, and that this must be
addressed in order to assure a brighter
social and economic future for
humanity.
Haeden University is situated on
University Avenue, east of the
downtown core and the Houses of
Parliament. It originally consisted of a
single multi-purpose building, but over
the years the campus has grown to
include many other buildings devoted
to various branches of study. As well,
the revered library, featuring the famed
Margolliean Camera, occupies a place of
prominence. Situated on the edge of the
Quad, it is an impressive structure and a
testament to the dedication of the
Republic's second president, Julian
Margolliean.
Health Care:
Along with education, health care
is considered one of the mainstays of
Haven society and as such is paid for by
the government. Hospitals and clinics
are funded by the government, and fees
charged by doctors in "private" practices
are also fully reimbursed by the state.
The government considers the
health and well-being of all citizens to
be essential to the future aspirations of
the Republic and to the continued
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
33
welfare of the human race. As a
consequence, the government plays an
active role in all aspects of health care,
insofar as it ensures that each and every
citizen has equal and fair access to
whatever medical assistance he or she
may require.
The government maintains
several research facilities on the islands
and owns an interest in the leading
pharmaceutical manufacturer,
PacifiChem. PacifiChem is part of the
Westerly Group, of which Island
Transnational Shipping is the leading
component.
Clarkson:
The Clarkson Secure Care facility
is located some distance south of Caelo
along Coast Road. It is set overlooking
Resolute Bay and accommodates several
hundred patients in various states of
mental and physical debilitation. The
facility is funded by the government
and maintains an around-the-clock staff
of nurses and orderlies, with an on-call
doctor.
The facility is on permanent
lockdown. Entrance is strictly regulated
and all visitors must sign in before they
are given access. Patients are only
allowed outside when accompanied by
a family member or by staff.
Like many operations (both
public and private), Clarkson suffers
from chronic understaffing and a lack of
funds. As a result, there have been many
minor incidents at the facility that have
aroused concern over the safety of the
patients. Efforts to address these issues
are ongoing, though as yet little has
been done.
Republic of Haven Armed Forces:
The Republic of Haven Armed
Forces constitutes a relatively small
number of fulltime professional soldiers,
sailors, and airmen. Regular troops are
supplemented by a yearly influx of
individuals fulfilling their M2S (two
year Mandatory Military Service). All
citizens of Haven must complete at least
two years of military service between
the ages of eighteen and fifty. Such
service can be completed as one two
year stint or broken into two one year
commitments, with the first year to be
initiated no later than an individual's
nineteenth birthday and the second year
to be started before the fifty-first
birthday.
All Havenites are schooled in
basic combat procedures, including the
use and maintenance of a wide-variety
of weapons. Everyone is given sniper
training and taught the fundamentals of
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
34
hand-to-hand combat, with an emphasis
on the ways to kill a vamp.
There is no distinction made
between males and females when it
comes to the roles they play in the
military system. Women are expected to
be as much a part of any future combat
situation as men will be. Accordingly,
they also undergo flight-training, are
taught nautical lore, and are schooled in
special operations procedures.
All "legal" age citizens of Haven
are considered soldiers, but in the event
of a war the government exercises the
constitutional right to enlist individuals
as young as fourteen for combat duties
and as young as thirteen for behind-the-
lines postings.
Much of the heavy equipment of
the Armed Forces dates from before the
end of the war. The deep water fleet
anchored at Carmichael Naval Base is
composed of battleships, cruisers,
destroyers and escort carriers that
survived the last great sea battles. Other,
smaller ships are located at places like
Dunington, Easthaven, the Southern
Approaches, North Pointe Lookout, and
the Western Battery.
Many of the larger vessels, such
as the RHS Salvation (formerly the USS
Missouri), RHS Defiant (formerly the
HMS Duke of York), and the RHS Caelo
(formerly the USS Enterprise) are
mothballed. Only a handful of smaller
vessels are fully maintained and kept on
the active roster, including the escort
carriers RHS Chaser (formerly the HMS
Chaser) and RHS Charger (formerly the
HMS Charger), the destroyers RHS
Dunington (formerly the HMCS Haida)
and RHS Barrow (formerly the USS
Kearny). A dozen large patrol craft of the
Island class, built in Haven over the last
decade, regularly monitor the waters
surrounding the islands and are the
Navy's main operational fleet during
peacetime.
The Republic's air force consists
largely of modified and updated aircraft
from the war. P-51s, Zeros, Spitfires and
such make up the bulk of the air fleet.
The air force also maintains two airships
for long range patrol purposes. B-29s
and Lancasters also serve patrol duties,
having been extensively modified for
submarine tracking.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
35
Recently the air force unveiled its
very first jet fighter, built and designed
in Haven. It is known as the "Dagger",
and provided budgetary constraints do
not force a shutdown of the program, a
squadron of these fighters may be
operational within the next decade.
Proponents of the program contend that
it will give the Republic technology
equal to the vamp's Messerschmitt jets.
The Articles of Peace restrict
Armed Forces activities to areas within
the vicinity of the islands. Under the
truce signed with the Third Reich,
Haven military vessels may not stray
beyond a two hundred mile radius of
the Republic without the express
permission of the Kriegsmarine. Only
the Navy's specially marked Lightning
search and rescue vessels are exempt
from this provision.
The terms of the truce prohibit
Haven from maintaining and operating
submarines in any capacity.
Mandatory Labor Service:
MLS – also known as Mandatory
Labor Service – became one of the first
amendments to the Constitution when it
was realized the Republic would
consistently suffer from a shortage of
manpower in even the most basic fields
of endeavor. Accordingly, in the early
fifties it was determined that all school
children from grades one to twelve, and
university students pursuing their first
degrees should become active
contributors to the society of which they
are a crucial part. The Mandatory
Services Act was thus passed,
mandating compulsory civil and
military service.
Mandatory Labor Service places
students within specific sectors of the
economy for set periods of time each
year. The obligations of children are
geared toward their age groups and
range from simple tasks like sorting
products, cleaning parks, milking cows,
etc., to more labor intensive jobs such as
work in farm fields and on factory
assembly lines. These job placements
generally last no more than one month
and are worked into the school year—
though in the case of farm work they are
frequently assigned during the yearly
vacation period. In some cases students
may find their labour stints deferred to
consecutive Saturdays over the space of
a year – rather than in a block of thirty
days, as may be required.
While the academic year in
Haven has been adapted to best suit the
needs of the economy, it still tends to
mimic the traditions established before
the Fall.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
36
Mandatory Military Service:
M2S (Mandatory Military
Service) is, as stated above, part of the
Mandatory Services Act. As mentioned
in the section on the Armed Forces, all
citizens of the Republic who have
reached the age of majority are
considered soldiers. While a minimum
of two years of service in the military is
required by citizens, in some instances
this may be extended – usually in lieu of
punishment for criminal activities. It is
rare for a citizen to be released from the
obligation of serving in the Armed
Forces, as defense of the realm and
constant vigilance are considered
essential to the well-being of Haven
society.
Diplomatic Relations with the Third
Reich:
The Republic of Haven maintains
cordial diplomatic relations with the
Third Reich. Embassies are located in all
vamp cities, and this is reciprocated by
the Third Reich Embassy that is located
off Coast Road in Caelo.
Diplomacy is considered essential
to keeping the peace, and as such the
lines of communication between Haven
and the Third Reich have always been
active. It has been the primary objective
of every president to ensure that the
relationship between the Hitler regime
and the islands holds true to the truce
that was established with the signing of
the Articles of Peace.
Citizens of Haven venturing into
the Third Reich are expected to adhere
strictly to the guidelines set down by the
government concerning conduct outside
of the Republic. Areas proscribed by the
Haven government and/or by the Third
Reich are to be avoided at all costs.
Haven citizens in vamp cities are
expected to exercise the utmost caution
and to apprise themselves of all laws
and regulations established by the Hitler
regime. They are not to engage in
activities that might be construed as
seditious or reactionary; and any crime
committed within the Third Reich must
be resolved through means of the local
judiciary. The appropriate Haven
embassy may offer assistance, but it is
generally acknowledged that in matters
such as this a citizen is on his/her own
and must prevail upon the mercy of the
local courts for absolution.
Diplomatic immunity is accorded
all embassy staff, but in the event that
an incident should occur, it is within the
purview of the respective governments
to lift such immunity and permit local
prosecution. To date no incidents have
occurred that would require this.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
37
As a rule, the staffing levels of
Haven embassies are kept to a
minimum, though in the cities that have
become more popular tourist
destinations – particularly New York –
the number of personnel is necessarily
larger to accommodate the greater need.
After the New York embassy, the
embassy in Berlin is the largest.
Diplomatically the latter is also the most
active and serves as home to the
President of the Republic on those
occasions when he visits the Third Reich
capital.
There are some who argue that
the freedoms and rights of the citizens
of Haven are constrained by their own
government for fear of offending the
Nazis, and it is certainly true that
criticisms of the Third Reich are rare in
the media. However, within the school
curriculum, set by the government,
there is no secret made of the
government's own ambitions to one day
see humans rule the globe again.
Foreign Travel:
Soon after the first settlers arrived
in Haven, a line of communications was
established with the Third Reich.
Initially the Reich's embassy was a
warship docked in Resolute Bay, but
once Caelo was firmly in place a proper
compound and building were erected at
the northern edge of Cliffside. From
there all business between the Third
Reich and Haven is conducted. For the
average Havenite the embassy remains
aloof and mysterious; the vamps are
seldom seen in public, only occasionally
showing up at local functions hosted by
the Haven government.
At the beginning of the decade of
the sixties the government, under
President Ellison, began negotiations
with the Third Reich to increase co-
operation between the two nations. It is
at this point that the Third Reich
expressed an interest in having Immune
workers provide services that could not
readily be performed by the vamp
population. An agreement was quickly
established and the first Immunes
entered the Third Reich in 1962. Outside
of politicians, diplomats, and a handful
of reporters, no Immunes had set foot in
the Third Reich up to this point.
The initial wave of this
temporary migration was small,
numbering less than a hundred in the
vamp city of New York. However,
within a year the program was deemed
a success and the number of Immunes
working in the Third Reich swelled to
thousands spread throughout all the
vamp cities.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
38
Immune workers are generally
limited to short term contracts (six
months to a year—rarely two) and are
required to return to Haven after the
completion of a contracted period of
work. Upon return to the islands, they
must be engaged locally for a minimum
of two years before being permitted to
apply to work in the Third Reich again.
While in the Third Reich, workers from
Haven stay in compounds expressly set
aside for their use. Fraternization
between Immunes and vamps is not
encouraged.
After the Immune temporary
worker program had been running
without incident for several years, a
request to begin a tourist trade with the
Third Reich was put forward by private
concerns in Haven. After much
negotiation it was agreed that a limited
amount of Immune tourist traffic would
be permitted within the Third Reich,
and by the seventies the first Immune
tourists arrived in New York.
Immune travel within the Third
Reich is strictly monitored and tourists
are confined to particular areas and
activities within the vamp cities.
Interaction between vamps and
Immunes is also tightly monitored.
Tourists are generally not free to
wander unattended, though in some of
the cities there are routes that tourists
may follow without the accompaniment
of a "minder."
Once the tourist trade had been
agreed to and worked out, a formal
arrangement was made between
Lufthansa and Island Transnational
Shipping to supply Immune crews for
the airships carrying Immune
passengers. Generally, these crews work
only on flights carrying Haven citizens.
Initially they were limited to those
personnel (i.e. stewards, maids, etc.)
who would have direct contact with
Immune travelers; however, over the
years Lufthansa has extended its
employment of Immunes to all levels of
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
39
the airships, and it is now accepted
practice that ships on which there are
Havenites will be crewed by an equal
number of vamps and Immunes.
The most common Third Reich
destination for Haven tourists is New
York – largely because fares to the
North American city are the cheapest.
London, Paris, and Berlin are also
popular, but see far less of the tourist
traffic. They are, however, common
destinations for Haven businessmen
doing trade with the Third Reich and for
Immune workers contracted by vamp
companies.
A visa is required to travel to the
Third Reich and may be applied for
through a designated Haven travel
agency. Such agencies work with the
Embassy to ensure that processing times
are as quick as possible. Generally the
usual turnaround between application
and receipt is about an hour or two.
The visa must be presented to
Haven customs officials upon departure
and return. Within the Third Reich the
visa must be carried at all times and
presented when requested by any
officer of the Third Reich, government
or military. Any Haven citizen losing his
or her visa must report immediately to
the nearest Haven embassy. It is
forbidden to travel within the Third
Reich without a visa and proper
identification.
Censorship:
The Haven Censorship Board
serves to filter arts and entertainment in
the various media, as well as journalistic
output of same. The board is operated
by the government and is not required
by law to explain its decisions.
However, those involved with the
production of censored material may
appeal board rulings within thirty days
of receiving judgment.
The board also reviews all
imported media and may reject material
deemed unsuitable for a Haven
audience. All vamp films, books, music,
etc. are vetted by the board before being
permitted dissemination throughout the
islands. Only a very small percentage of
vamp media is allowed on the islands
by the board, and much of this would be
described as innocuous.
Regardless of the board's
existence and activities, uncensored
materials in many forms continue to
make their way throughout Haven
society. In particular, among the
younger generation, there is a thriving
market for vamp books and films that
have not been passed by the censorship
board. Some of these have been
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
40
variously described as: risqué, seditious,
graphic, unseemly, pornographic,
excessively violent, and without artistic
merit of any sort. It is perhaps the illicit
and scandalous nature of the material
that makes it so appealing to the
younger generation, though some have
argued the true motivation behind the
censoring of so much vamp media is not
the actual content so much as the
influence it is felt it may have on the
Haven population. With the Republic
limited in the extent to which it can
produce similar such media, it is feared
that the ability to maintain a separate
national identity may be compromised
if citizens of Haven are too often
exposed to the vamp way of life and the
Nazi mindset.
Manufacturing:
A wide variety of items are
manufactured on the islands, but Haven
also imports a great many products
from the Third Reich. Imports include
gasoline-powered automobiles, radios,
televisions, and other
electrical/mechanical devices. On the
islands the scale of the economy makes
it impractical to develop and
manufacture many of these goods.
Although the Third Reich
technically closed off access to the
mainland, the Haven government
authorized covert scavenging missions
to abandoned Pacific Rim cities in an
effort to fulfill the needs of a growing
nation. Despite the risks of being caught
by Nazi U-boats, this practice continued
for some time, but in more recent years
it has become problematic, largely due
to the increased dangers posed by
entering the steadily deteriorating cities.
Officially, the government now frowns
upon such activity and has deemed it
illegal—though few have ever been
prosecuted for engaging in the practice
of salvage.
Manufacturers in Haven have
been forced to become increasingly
versatile, even as factories have steadily
aged and the demand for replacement
parts for machinery has become chronic.
The government has attempted to
address this issue through various
strategies, but the fundamental
weakness inherent in a small population
and limited economy make it difficult to
effect any positive change in the
situation. Without access to more
resources and an ability to expand the
population at an increased pace, many
fear Haven will simply reach a breaking
point – at which time decline will be
inevitable and the standard of living
will collapse and revert to conditions
not seen since the early days of
settlement.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
41
Repeated attempts to get the
Third Reich government to permit
expansion of the Republic onto the
mainland have been consistently
rebuffed, and there are no indications
the Hitler regime will relent at any point
in the near future. This has driven some
to call for a solution to the "vamp
problem" and a demand for the
government to be more hardline and
proactive in its dealings with the Nazis.
Island Transnational Shipping:
The largest transportation
company in the Republic, Island
Transnational Shipping is part of the
Westerly Group, run by John Westerly,
whose father, Ranulf Westerly, founded
the company shortly after settling in
Caelo. The company began as a small
trucking concern but soon expanded to
include inter-island shipping by sea.
When the government sought to
improve transportation networks
between the islands, Island
Transnational Shipping was one of the
major contractors for the electric service
that has since become known as the
Central Island Train Line (the "Central").
Island Transnational Shipping
owns the largest fleet of freighters in the
Republic and is responsible for all
shipping between Haven and the Third
Reich.
No Haven for Darkness:
Written by Philip Hawthorne, No
Haven for Darkness was an enormous
success in Haven when it was first
released in the late seventies. It purports
to be the true story of a young woman
from Haven who mysteriously awakens
on an alternate Earth and finds herself
in the body of girl named Samantha
Jarvis. In this parallel universe there was
no Gomorrah virus and the Axis lost the
war in 1945, with Hitler committing
suicide in April of that year. As a
consequence, the social, political, and
technological landscape of the world is
vastly different. At the time of the story
(nearing the end of the second decade of
the twenty-first century), there are some
seven billion people on the planet in
more than two hundred different
countries. Gasoline-powered vehicles
rule the roads, causing enormous
amounts of pollution and contributing
to growing concerns about
environmental degradation and
something called "global warming."
There are airplanes capable of carrying
eight hundred or more passengers
nearly a third of the way around the
world without stopping for fuel and the
skies are filled daily with tens of
thousands of aircraft transporting
millions of people about the globe.
Tourism is a vast industry, and people
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
42
regularly travel to even the remotest
parts of the planet in search of
adventure.
A space station orbits the Earth,
and in the not too distant past men set
foot on the Moon. Machines have been
sent to Mars and have roamed its
surface, sending back pictures of
another world. Rockets are regularly
launched into space carrying human
beings or satellites.
People own a plethora of
technologies, including many that seem
beyond imagining. Not least of these are
“cellular" telephones. These phones are
ubiquitous and so small they can fit in a
pocket or a purse. They allow a person
to contact almost anyone at anytime and
anywhere and do things that seem more
like magic than reality. Enormous "flat
panel" televisions – thin enough to hang
on a wall – are a common feature in
homes and permit one to watch
hundreds of different channels carrying
hundreds of different progams. People
often eat pre-packaged food, invariably
using devices called "microwave" ovens
to warm up the meals in a fraction of the
time it would take to cook using a
conventional stove. Practically every
household in wealthier nations has at
least one computer, and many of these
are small and portable – no bigger than
a notebook and as thin as a piece of
glass – but are many, many times more
powerful than Haeden University's
vacuum tube Colossus.
Perhaps most fascinating in
Hawthorne's fantasy is something called
the "Internet." This is essentially a vast
network connecting millions upon
millions of computers to one another
and allowing people to not only
communicate through a variety of
means, but also enabling them to access
a wealth of information beyond
anything contained in a set of
encyclopedias. Indeed, on the Internet
people regularly do things like shop
"online," "stream" music and movies and
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
43
other media, and socialize in ways that
are simply beyond imagining in Haven.
It is a critical instrument of the
civilization portrayed, and it is clear that
without it the world would become
largely dysfunctional.
A "cult of the celebrity" appears
to exist on Hawthorne’s alternate Earth,
with large numbers of people
worshipping anyone who can make a
claim to some fame or notoriety (for
whatever reason). Some people are
simply famous for having become
famous and appear to contribute
nothing to society. They are essentially
parasitic in nature, deriving their
livelihood from the mere fact that they
have gained a status they have not truly
earned and for which there appears to
be no plausible explanation – other than
the sheer idiocy of the public. This is
especially exemplified by the fact that
individuals who are stupid and truly
obnoxious are idolized. It is fair to say
that in Hawthorne's alternate Earth the
more loathsome one is, the more one is
likely to achieve success and wealth.
Greed and narcissism are seen as virtues
by many, regardless of how destructive
they may be to the welfare of others.
The wealthy seem to see little wrong in
cheating – as long as you can get away
with it. Nor do they seem to believe that
the rule of law should apply to them.
They clearly subscribe to a notion that
they are somehow apart from the rest of
society, and that their status should
accord them special treatment when it
comes to matters of social and legal
propriety. As a result, the society in
which Hawthorne’s central character,
Samantha Jarvis, finds herself is
increasingly divided along the lines of
the "haves" and the "have-nots," with the
latter far out-numbering the former and
thus creating a growing tide of
resentment in the bottom strata of the
population.
Hawthorne creates a colorful but
ultimately unconvincing – dare it even
be said, ludicrous? – world, its excesses
simply too broad and caricaturish to be
believable. The notion of individuals
driven to such heights of greed that they
continue to pursue wealth at the
expense of the society around them
(heedless as it visibly crumbles) is
difficult enough to swallow; but the idea
that people would actually have the
audacity to complain about the poverty
around them that they clearly have
contributed to is to laugh.
Nor do the author's detailed
pictures of a world wrapped so tightly
in a web of electronica seem credible.
Such levels of technology as those the
author depicts are incredibly advanced,
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
44
and it seems unlikely any civilization
could surge so far ahead in so many
areas of science and engineering within
just a mere six or seven decades of the
war's end. And as to the social aspect of
all this interconnectedness, it is hard to
believe people could become so wedded
to technology that it would essentially
govern all aspects of their lives and
leave them helpless when it fails.
All of Hawthorne's wild
speculations as to what our world
would be like had there never been a
virus are woven through a narrative that
has the character Samantha Jarvis
rushing about in an attempt to not only
figure out who she really is, but to also
thwart the machinations of a group that
sounds suspiciously like the Old Ones.
Some have speculated on this facet of
the tale and have suggested it is a less
than subtle declaration by the author
that our world exists as it does solely
because of the Old Ones, and that
should we rid ourselves of them, we
might one day enjoy a world like his
alternate Earth.
Now nearly three decades after
its first publication, No Haven for
Darkness remains something of a cult
classic in Haven literature. It was
Hawthorne's only book, and after its
publication he withdrew from the public
eye and has given no interviews since.
Rumors persist of a second book, but the
author's publisher insists that no such
novel exists and that there are no
indications Hawthorne will ever write
one. Hawthorne himself has always
maintained there can be no sequel
because the story was true and he has
no knowledge of what happened after
the end of the book.
While the novel was a hit in
Haven, it was banned in the Third
Reich. Its initial publication caused
something of a diplomatic row, but the
controversy soon died down. Rumors
persist that the book is widely circulated
amidst some of the vamp populace,
though for reasons not yet understood.
Regardless of its merits (or lack
thereof), No Haven for Darkness remains
a pointed reminder that our world
would have been vastly different if not
for the unleashing of Gomorrah. That
something so small could cause so
dramatic a change is sobering.
Haven Idiom and Slang:
The official language of Haven is
English, largely due to the large
proportion of surviving Immunes who
originated from English speaking
countries. Other languages are
maintained, however, and in some
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
45
communities on the islands where a
specific ethnic group may have
gathered, it is not uncommon to hear the
language of the local majority spoken
more frequently in the streets.
The English spoken in the
Republic has developed an idiom of its
own over the years, some of which is
merely the melding of different slang
terms from various countries. American,
Canadian, and Australian figures of
speech are most prominent, as well as
many British terms common to these
countries. There are also figures of
speech and such from other countries
that have entered the local vernacular.
In some cases Havenites use different
terms interchangeably, thus you will
hear the storage area at the rear of an
electric (car) referred to variously as a
"boot," a "trunk," or a "bin." Terms like
"electric" most commonly refer to any
means of transport powered by
electricity, and so both electrically
powered automobiles and electrically
powered trains are locally referred to as
simply "electrics."
A list of Haven slang would
cover many pages, but some of the more
common terms are below.
bingle – this term is sometimes used to
refer to an accident, as in: "When the car
slid out of control and hit the truck it was
the worst bingle I'd ever seen."
boot – refers to the rear storage
compartment of an automobile. On the
islands it is used interchangeably with
"trunk" and "bin."
bonnet – refers to the metal panel
(usually at the front of a car) that can be
opened to access the engine. It is used
interchangeably with "hood" and "lid."
bin – see Boot
Central, the – depending on context, it
can mean either Central Island or more
commonly the Central Island Train Line.
Examples: "I'm leaving Central for South
tomorrow." "I'm catching the Central for
Coral Beach this afternoon."
EAC – Electric Allotment Coupon. EACs
are issued on a monthly basis to all
citizens of Haven as part of their RBs
(Ration Books) and are required for the
purchase of goods and services that
utilize electricity.
electric – an "electric" is any vehicle that
employs electricity to power its primary
means of motive activity. Both cars and
trains are referred to simply as
"electrics" in Haven.
EAQ or ERQ – Electric Allotment Quota
or Electric Ration Quota. The EAQ or
ERQ is set for each individual, based on
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
46
need. Medical doctors, for example, are
given a greater quota than students.
When an individual exhausts his/her
monthly quota, he/she has no option but
to wait until the next issue of EACs.
Regardless of willingness to pay, the
government will not issue any
individual more quota than has been set
for him/her.
facilities – often used to refer to a
washroom (with toilet). Less common
than "loo".
Fall, the – refers to the period following
the initial outbreak of the plague caused
by the spread of the engineered virus
BSD1897 (more commonly known as
Gomorrah). The Fall is generally
considered to have lasted from 1943 to
1948, although some historians argue
that the end date should be earlier since
most humans had either died or been
transformed sometime before 1948.
Others suggest the Fall has not yet
ended.
Immune – any human being with a
natural immunity to Gomorrah.
legal or street legal – refers to reaching
the age of majority in Haven. At
seventeen a boy or girl becomes what is
locally termed "legal" or "street legal,"
meaning that they are now considered
adults. The curfew no longer applies to
them and they are accorded all the
rights and liberties of an adult, as well
as all the responsibilities. These include
(among other things) the right to marry,
to have consensual sex, to drink alcohol,
to drive a motor vehicle, and to vote.
lid – see Bonnet
loo – a toilet (washroom). A British term
freely adopted by most younger
Havenites. Older citizens of the island
tend to use "toilet," "washroom,"
“restroom,” and "facilities" – depending
upon their place of origin (i.e. Canada,
US, Australia, etc.)
hydro – electricity that is consumed by
Havenites in their daily life and for
which they are required to pay is often
referred to simply as "hydro." This term
stems from the fact that the original
power source of Caelo was water-
turbines in the Skelty River. Thus when
a Havenite says, "The hydro is out again,"
he means that the electricity is out.
M2S – this refers to the two year
Mandatory Military Service required of
all able-bodied citizens of the Republic.
M2=Mandatory Military and also
references the fact that two years of
service must be completed to fulfill the
obligation to the state.
MLS – is short for Mandatory Labor
Service. Each citizen of the Republic is
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
47
expected to engage in some sort of
service each year, though the bulk of
these responsibilities fall to students in
grades one to twelve and those engaged
in acquiring their first university degree.
MLS is required of other citizens
depending upon the nature of their
employment. It is considered crucial to
the economic well-being of the Republic
and is enshrined in the constitution.
nick – can refer to jail or incarceration of
some form. More common among
younger Havenites.
PSS – the Presidential Security Service.
Ostensibly organized to protect the
President of the Republic, the duties of
the PSS also entail matters that are not
localized but have a broader, national
concern. Their jurisdictional power
surpasses that of all other civilian police
forces, and in matters of national
security can exceed that of the military.
PSS officers always accompany the
President, regardless of where he
travels.
RB – Havenites generally refer to the
government-issued Ration Book as an
"RB." Every citizen in Haven is issued a
Ration Book, and there are very few
goods or services of a legal nature that
can be bought without use of the
coupons within the book.
rotter – a cad; an individual who is
morally reprehensible.
scavy – a scavy is an individual who
deals in scavenged/salvaged (and often
illicit) items. While the term is
sometimes applied to the men and
women who actually engage in the
salvage firsthand, more often than not it
refers to the individuals who sell the
items in the market. In some cases
trawler crews who engage in fishing
outside the legal boundaries are referred
to as scavies.
vamp – is simply short for vampire. The
true physiological nature of vamps
differs from the traditional fictional
characters, of which Dracula is perhaps
the best known. Vamps are humans
who have been infected with the virus
BSD1897 (Gomorrah) and transformed
into individuals whose characteristics
commonly mimic many of the traits of
fictional vampires – hence the reference
to them in the early days of the Fall as
being vampires.
zebra – refers to a taxicab in Caelo. The
name stems from the fact that most taxis
are painted in black and white stripes.
The Third Reich:
One cannot discuss Haven
without recognizing the existence of the
Third Reich and the undeniable
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
48
influence it has on everyone and
everything on the islands. It goes
without saying that if the Third Reich
did not exist, then neither in all
likelihood would Haven. They go hand-
in-hand, however much we may wish to
believe we are separate and
independent.
The Third Reich as it exists today
is clearly not what Hitler envisaged in
the thirties when he began his quest to
create an Aryan master race and the
empire for it. Gomorrah changed
everything – including Hitler himself.
Just as Haven was formed and shaped
by circumstance and born of necessity,
so, too, has Hitler's dreams of a vast
dominion been altered by the horror he
unleashed upon humanity.
The Third Reich as it exists now
encompasses several city states, the
most distant of these from Germany
being New York. All of these cities are
governed by Nazi party members
appointed by Hitler. However, the
ultimate authority in each city resides in
the Gestapo, which reports directly to
the Fuhrer.
There is no semblance of
democracy in the Third Reich; it is a
dictatorship and all political
appointments are made by Hitler and
his inner circle. There is a belief that the
Old Ones hold considerable sway over
decisions made by the Fuhrer; and,
indeed, the Fuhrer is seldom if ever seen
without at least one of them present. It
has been argued the Old Ones were
largely responsible for the plague, and
that dispersing the virus among the
world's population was part of a
grander scheme – though there has
never been any evidence to indicate just
what the goal of such a grand scheme
would have been.
In 1948 Hitler's vamp forces all
but crushed Immune resistance at the
Battle of Cypress Hills, and the end of
humanity seemed imminent until the
Nazi offensive came to an abrupt and
unexpected halt. In the days that
followed, the remainder of the Immune
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
49
army gathered in anticipation of one
final, devastating push from the enemy.
It never came. Instead, by some
accounts (though these differ from the
"official" records), the Immune
leadership received an invitation to
meet with Nazi generals in the ruins of
Medicine Hat. Expecting to be handed
terms of surrender, the Immunes were
stunned when their enemy proposed a
truce that would guarantee the survival
of the remaining humans.
An initial ceasefire was signed
that day, and in the weeks that followed
vamp and Immune leaders met daily to
work out the details of what are now
known as "The Articles of Peace." These
documents spell out in detail the
parameters of the relationship between
the surviving Immune community and
the vamp Third Reich. Key to the
agreement was the establishment of
Haven on the archipelago of what was
formerly known as Aipotu.
Why the vamps would agree to a
truce when they had all but achieved
their objective of wiping out the
remaining human population has long
been subject to debate. That they would
agree to the creation of the Republic of
Haven is even more of an enigma. That
these and other mysteries could be
resolved if The Articles of Peace were to
be made public is a certainty. However,
as part of the agreement between the
Immune leadership and the Third Reich,
the reasons for the truce and the terms
governing it are to remain forever
secret.
Regardless of government
statements to the contrary, Haven
depends a great deal on the Third Reich
for much of the machinery and material
that has made the Republic a modern,
civilized place in which to live.
However, while imports are copious, all
evidence suggests that exports to the
Third Reich from Haven are minimal.
The government has never sought to
explain this, and attempts to uncover an
explanation are usually met with
silence. Regardless of the apparent
imbalance in trade, the relationship
seems to have worked well over the
decades, and there are no indications
things will change.
By sheer weight of numbers the
scientific and technological
developments of the Third Reich
outweigh those of Haven. As a
consequence, as stated above, Haven
often imports the high-end products
that have come out of vamp R&D and
manufacturing. While there are
instances where technologies have been
licensed, most are end products simply
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
50
purchased outright. In the area of
weaponry, however, there is no trade
between the nations. Nor is there any
Immune access to such Third Reich
developments as the Von Braun space
rockets.
The gap between what can be
achieved in Haven and what the Third
Reich is capable of in technological
terms is a source of great concern within
the Republic's government. Efforts to
level the playing field have never met
with much success because of the lack of
funds; however, it is rumored the
government has a secret research and
development center on Brute Island into
which it has poured immense amounts
of money.
While Hitler has never ventured
to the islands, every president of Haven
since the founding of the Republic has
gone to Berlin at least once during his
term(s) of office. Some suggest this is a
clear indication of Haven's subservience
to the Nazi regime, while others have
maintained that it is simply common
sense to ensure that the levels of
communications between the two
nations remain open and free of
bureaucratic entanglements that might
lead to tragic misunderstandings.
Some factions in Haven believe
the Republic should seek greater
autonomy from the Third Reich and
point to the existence of the vamp
embassy as proof the Republic's
sovereignty is more illusion than reality.
The anti-vamp factions, while not large,
have grown over the years, and it is
believed that even one or two members
of the President's Council may be active
in these circles. The debate has gained
more traction over the last few years,
and there are those who fear that at
some point it could become a major
political issue and threaten the fragile
peace that exists between Haven and the
Third Reich.
While divisions exist within
Haven, there are hints that in the Third
Reich resistance to the iron-fisted rule of
the Nazis may be growing. Recent
evidence indicates there are vamps in
New York who desire to establish a
clean break from the Hitler regime and
become wholly independent of the
Third Reich. Were such a situation to
become a reality, it would have serious
ramifications for the Republic and
possibly leave the Haven government in
the uncomfortable position of having to
take sides. Most of the Republic's trade
and contact with the Third Reich is
through New York, so any change in the
political landscape would force the
government to rethink its relationship
with Berlin.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
51
The most pressing concern in
this matter is the vast difference in the
strength of the Republic's military and
that of the Wehrmacht. Even were all of
Haven's able-bodied citizenry to be
mobilized and all equipment brought
into active service, it would remain
insufficient to adequately defend the
nation from an all-out assault from the
Nazis. In particular there is currently no
adequate defense against the Von Braun
rockets, which are capable of delivering
devastating payloads over long
distances.
Officially the Haven government
remains committed to its relationship
with the Third Reich.
New York City:
While it has been many decades
since the end of the war, New York City
has not changed markedly in that time.
The governing Nazis have chosen not to
build extensively in a city that remains
under-populated since the advent of the
plague. And it is believed the German
vamps have always been wary of their
North American brethren, a fact borne
out by the heavy Gestapo presence and
a local administration run by a German
governor.
The city and its surroundings still
show many of the scars of the war.
There are ruins of buildings and craters
everywhere, and indications of the
chaos that ensued during the worst
period of the Fall are evident
throughout the city streets. Despite that,
New York remains a bustling, active
metropolis, on a scale that is far greater
than Caelo. Despite the ravages of time,
it remains surprisingly seductive.
Like all vamp cities, New York is
active in the night hours and largely
quiet in the day. Tourists are still able to
visit many facilities during daylight, but
are forbidden to travel outdoors on foot.
Any movement within the city must be
on official underground transportation.
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
52
New York is crucial to Haven's
survival, as it is the major port to which
the Island Transnational Shipping fleet
runs its cargo service. The function of
the Republic would be severely
constrained were shipping to and from
the city to be terminated.
The vamps of New York,
however, are considerably different
from those of the other vamps cities,
and many within the city consider
themselves a separate state. A growing
underground rebellion is said to exist,
and Haven diplomats report that there
is a risk of conflict. Already there have
been several violent incidents, including
several explosions that have destroyed
Nazi buildings.
On those occasions when the
Hitler regime has even deigned to
acknowledge the existence of rebels,
they have been branded as terrorists.
The rebels, however, are said to consider
themselves freedom fighters, actively
engaged in a legitimate cause. The
Haven government has no public
position on this matter and has stated
frequently that any such concerns are
the internal affairs of the Third Reich.
There are some sources in the
government, however, who suggest the
Republic fears an all-out civil war may
arise, and that this could be disastrous
for Haven.
New York remains a city visibly
haunted by its past and staggering
uncertainly toward an undetermined
future.
The Old Ones – little is known about
the Old Ones, but it is generally
accepted that they are the real power
behind the Nazis regime. They are
seldom seen in public and rarely
photographed, but a careful accounting
of all sightings suggests there can be no
more than twelve or thirteen of them, at
least one of which is female.
The origins of the Old Ones are
steeped in rumor and outright
fabrication. They are said to be
thousands of years old, possibly dating
back to before recorded history. Some
have suggested they are from
A POCKET GUIDE TO HAVEN
53
"elsewhere," though where that might
be has never been truly determined.
Ideas in this regard have tended toward
the bizarre and the ridiculous –
including the suggestion they are from
another solar system or a parallel
universe.
Mention of them is found in
many cultures, including evidence of
their existence found in Egyptian
hieroglyphics. Some say the popular
Bram Stoker novel Dracula has its
origins in fables that are connected to
the Old Ones, and it does seem possible
they may have been the original source
of the entire vampire mythos.
The writer Philip Hawthorne, in a
rare and highly controversial interview
done shortly after the release of No
Haven for Darkness, insisted it should be
the number one priority of the Haven
government to rid the world of the Old
Ones. He maintained that the vamp
empire would soon collapse and that
eventually the world would revert to
humanity, as it properly should, if the
Old Ones were removed from the
equation. Respective Haven
governments have declined to comment
on the matter.
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